


later on

by orphan_account



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Break Up, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 12:08:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12080760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Older AU. An embarrassing break-up (but not) one-shot.





	later on

**Author's Note:**

> based off a tumblr and twitter prompts

It's okay for a man to love a man. In certain places. In certain ways.

There are certain rules in society and he's learned them, knows how to follow them. He's had enough time. It makes their lives easier, just to fit in.

But there's one that's been bothering him lately. He's been spending a lot of time thinking about it.

It's okay for a man to love another man, but they can never be married. They can never start a family, never have children. They can't even adopt.

And while he's not exactly a man, it's the shape he's taken on. It's what society sees him as. And maybe it's because he's not exactly a man that he's never been bothered knowing he can't be married. That he can't have children. It was unchangeable truth. It had always been.

But the same can't be said for Saihara, and it bothers him.

(Would you want me to be a girl, Saihara? He had brought the question up unbidden one day, open and genuine in his meaning. It would make little difference to him and he hadn't meant anything beneath the surface, but Saihara had looked concerned. Troubled. But he hadn't asked why he had asked, only said, I want you to be whatever makes you most happy.

In the end he had stayed the same.

Back then he was always trying to change himself. He wasn't sure who he wanted to be. But Saihara never pushed him into being anything. Maybe that was why he had fallen in love with him.)

They've been together for awhile now, moving together into a shared apartment after graduation. They're older now, but still young, in that sort of almost-intangible stage between young adult and finally, truly adult.

He had ended up working with his "father" (the Profesor) at Iidabashi Industries. He'd gotten over his hatred of robotics (even found a talent for it, unsuprisingly) as he became less and less himself. Not that he's become any more biological. It's just that, as far as the world is concerned, he's a human now. And (from what most people can see, at least) he looks it. There's been a lot of work done on him, some of it developed by himself, and he's proud of it. Proud of who he is.

(Just another thing to fit into society.)

(And it doesn't really matter that sometimes rumors and former classmates pop up. Him, a robot? Who would believe that?)

He's set to inherit the company someday. Hopefully not soon.

Saihara found work at the local police department. He works hard. He's usually out of bed hours before he wakes up, sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee, going through papers. But he always smiles at him when he finally gets up, when he goes to start breakfast.

That's their life together, slow and comfortable. And that's fine for now, but—

-

He smiles at him as he steps into the kitchen, sitting at the table, drinking coffee. As always. But there's no papers in his hands and his hair is still messy (did he sleep in today or did he wake up too early?), and maybe his smile is a bit bigger than usual.

"Kiibo," he greets. He sounds excited, like he wants to talk about something, but there's something he has to say, first. And maybe it's a bad day for it, a bad time for it, but there won't ever be a good time and he has to say it now.

—it can't last forever. Time doesn't wear on him but it wears on him, wears on Saihara, and the knowing sits heavy on his soul.

"Saihara." It sounds sick and bitter, and Saihara's cheerfulness fades into that worried face he knows so well (it hurts his heart every time, every occasion burned into his memory), one that he hasn't seen in so long. Back into the early days. Back in the before.

"What's wrong, Kiibo?"

"I, I want to thank you for everything. You've taught me so much."

It's hard for him to choose his words, and they come out slow, wooden. He's thought about this so much but he hasn't actually thought about what he was going to say. He realizes that now.

"Huh? You're making me nervous."

"I. I think it's time we end this." His voice takes on a robotic quality as he says it, some sort of staticky stutter. He hasn't sounded that way in years. Maybe he's nervous. No. He knows he is. He doesn't really want to do this.

Saihara's silent, staring at him with wide eyes. They watch each other in that quiet kitchen they've shared nearly every morning together in for years.

"What?" He can barely get it out.

"I know enough about romance now." He curses himself for his word choice as soon as he speaks. He's pleading, really, but it doesn't come across in his voice, in what he says. It's almost monotone.

"—know enough? What?" His shoulders shake. Something sits barely suppressed beneath his voice.

"I thought you said you wanted this to be real. I thought it was real."

"I didn't say it wasn't real."

"...why, then? You've never even said anything."

"I—"

He deserves to know, he realizes. I want you to be happy.

"You deserve better than me. You deserve to have a family. I—"

And now it's his turn to shake. The emotions rise in his chest, rush out with the words. It's too much for him to deal with.

(I know that your family doesn't like me. I know that they haven't spoken to you for so long because you're with me. I know you miss them. I'm not worth it.)

"—I've already wasted too many years of your life!" It comes out a roar and it echoes around them and he's embarrassed by it as soon as he says it but he means it anyway.

"I wanted this! Don't call it a waste!" Saihara yells back and he's genuinely angry. Kiibo's surprised, somehow, that Saihara truly cares that much. That he actually really cares about him.

He's never seen him this mad before.

He pushes in his chair hard and it bangs up against the table. He steps up close and his hands fall on Kiibo's shoulders, tense.

"...don't do this to me."

He doesn't know what to say. He doesn't move.

"If. If you didn't want to be with me anymore. If you just didn't like me anymore. I would understand. But don't make decisions for me, okay? I can make my own choices!"

"I. I just want you to be happy."

"I was happy! If I wasn't, I would have left!"

"But, your family..."

"They don't matter!" Saihara's hand leaves his shoulder and clutches at his chest. He looks pained. They've never talked about this, though he probably knew that he knew.

"You're the only one that matters, okay? You've always been number one."

"I don't know how you can say that."

"I can. And I mean it." He glares down at him like he's challenging him.

"...I'm sorry."

What else could he say? All his reasons would just sound stupid in response. It was true, wasn't it? It's not like he knew any better than Saihara.

"...are you really happy this way?"

"...I love you, Kiibo."

And Saihara kisses him, but it feels sad, somehow. He can't say why.


End file.
